A PENNY FOR HER THOUGHTS
by Saeshmea
Summary: The situation takes Albus to use legilimensy on Minerva... What is he going to see on her mind?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This follows the fic 'A perfect evening', but it's not really necessary to read it to understand this one.**

…

**A penny for her thoughts - 1**

…

"You're not doing it" Albus said "Severus, please, tell her she's not doing it"

"Oh, no… no, no, no" Severus Snape muttered, shaking his hands and stepping away from them "I'm keeping myself away from your fights… The last time you put me in between your argument, I ended up with a bump on my head… I'll leave you alone so you can…"

"You're not going anywhere, Severus" Minerva warned him closing making the door close itself magically from the other side of the room "You came here with the plan, so you'll help me convince this dumb old wizard that I'm the right which to do it"

"It's too dangerous!"

"This is about He who must not be named, Albus… I'm afraid it's always dangerous when it's about him"

"I'm just trying to protect you!"

"I don't need your damn protection, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore! I'm a grown witch that wants to do something for the damn Order of Phoenix you created to fight The Dark Lord. And admit it, you know I'm the right person to do this"

"Bloody hell, damn stubborn witch… You win!" he cursed while he was making his way out of the room "Severus, please… Tell her what she has to do. I'll be in my rooms"

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

He knocked the door and came in after being invited.

"Is she already gone?" Dumbledore asked to the wizard who had just came in.

"She'll be fine" Severus said "…and you know it, Albus"

"She is the most powerful and intelligent witch of the Order" he told "I have no doubt of her capacity for doing this but… the only though of something going wrong and Minerva getting hurt makes me …" he didn't finish his sentence.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Next day, at first time on the morning, Albus didn't even knock at the dungeons door before coming into professor Snape's rooms.

"She's not back, yet!" he exclaimed waking Severus up.

"Who?" Severus asked still sleepy and confused.

"Minerva. She's not back. I checked her rooms, she's not there…"

"What time is it?"

"I don't know, the sun is coming up… she was supposed to be here at midnight, didn't she?"

"Yes…" Severus replied quickly standing up and getting dressed in a move of wand "I'll go and check" and he disappeared into the fireplace of his room.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Minerva had gone to a secret meeting of witches of the dark side in the surrounding woods of London. Severus was the one who would usually do this kind of jobs for the Order but, this time… he would have been easily discovered among all those women. This was the reason why Minerva was the perfect choice for it, she could walk around the crowd and listen all their conversations being in her animagus form. Nobody would even suspect if he was or not a dark witch.

But the meeting was supposed to finish at midnight, that was why both Albus and Severus were now worried about her.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … ...

Once he was out of the school dominions, Severus disappeared to appear back at the exact place where hundreds of witches had been reunited last night. He looked around, there was no signal of her so, he took his wand out and whispered some words. A red light came out from the tip of his wand, he moved it around slowly and at one point, the light became green. He walked following the green light, which became red every time he did a step on the wrong direction.

Suddenly, behind a tree he noticed something, and when he approached it, he found Minerva on the ground. She was half naked, bruises covered her skin and the few clothes that covered her where dyed on blood.

"No" he muttered to himself. He knelt down and touch her hand… it was as cold as ice; she was dead. He took her body on his arms and left the forest.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Albus was wishing to see Severus appearing with Minerva behind him with some excuse about her delay but, when his friend came back through the fireplace carrying her on his arms, he felt his heart stopping.

"Is she ok?" he asked, giving all his hope on those words.

"I'm sorry" Severus muttered with tears on his eyes.

"No, no! She can't be… No! Poppy should have a look on her, she's Minerva McGonagall… She's… she's the best witch this school has ever met… she can't be… she can't be dead"

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Severus was feeling a lot of pity for that wizard unable to say goodbye to a beloved friend. While Minerva's cold body was being examined by Madam Pomfrey in the school's sickbay, Severus couldn't stop looking at the headmaster. Albus was sitting down in silence, with an illegible expression on his face, until the door was opened and Poppy came out.

"So?" Albus wondered while Severus was already seeing him breaking down after the nurse make him realize Minerva was gone.

"She's fine"

"What?" Snape exclaimed not believing her words.

"She's fine… well… she has some bounds but, her heart and mind are totally alive, the only problem is, she's not waking up… She's unconscious; in coma… it's like if she'd been frozen… Albus, Minerva is alive but, I can't wake her up if I don't know which spell took her to this state"

"How are we going to find it out if she can't tell us?" he said, like if he was upset to himself because of that.

"I could use legilimensy on her" Severus suggested "I could travel through her mind to the moment she was attacked"

"Good thinking, Severus…" Albus pointed "Legilimensy will help us take Minerva back with us but, I'll do the honors if you don't mind"

"But, Albus… not offence but, I'm better than you at legilimensy"

"You are, my dear friend… and you know I trust you in everything, but this time, in order to preserve Minerva's privacy, I think it should be me the one to go into her mind" and not saying anything else, Albus went into the room while Severus stayed there thinking if Dumbledore was really caring about Minerva's privacy, or if there was something on her memories Albus really didn't wanted him to know… by the way, it wasn't a secret that Albus and Minerva McGonagall shared a very good friendship so it wouldn't be strange that they shared more than one secret.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: Next chapter will show Minerva's thoughts… I hope you're enjoying this story… I you do (or even if you don't) leave a review and tell me what you thing^^


	2. Chapter 2

**A penny for her thoughts - 2**

Albus closed the door behind him and approached her bed slowly. He took her hand… it was so cold… She was lying unconscious; her breathing could barely be noticed… He himself would swear she was death if Poppy hadn't confirmed she wasn't.

He took out his wand and charmed a chair behind him and sat down as he left a sweet kiss on her friend's hand while whispered "_Legilimens_…"

_Suddenly, a bright light blinded his eyes… slowly, they got used to it and he could see a Scottish beach and a little black-haired girl wearing a white dress, with her feet on the water._

"_Mummy, look!" she exclaimed running to a red-haired woman sitting on the sand with a tabby cat on her lap._

"_What is it kitten?" the mother wondered._

"_It's a starfish. Can I keep it?" the little girl asked with begging eyes, showing her treasure to her mother._

"_Sweetheart, it's still alive... She must want to go back with her other starfish friends… Why don't you leave it back where you find it before she gets sad? … You don't want your little starfish to be sad, do you Minnie?" Minerva's mother answered with the sweetest smile on her face._

"_No, I don't" and while the little girl ran back to the water, the sand under her feet became green, and her white dress became black. Dumbledore looked around to understand and realized they were now in the middle of a field, in a funeral. A not-much-older Minerva was running away from the crowd of people also dressed in black, when the voice of an old man called her name._

"_Minerva, come back here, please" he said with the same severe tone Minerva used to talk to her students._

"_Yes, sir" she replied coming back to the gentleman, putting her head down. _

_The girl disappeared behind the crowd and Dumbledore approached them to find her. He could feel her sadness even if he couldn't see her, he was in her mind, it was her remember… He knew he wasn't supposed to be there and that it would have never been possible to go that far in her mind if she wasn't unconscious in the hospital bed. _

"_Are you sure you'll be fine taking care of your granddaughter, William? She's just seven years old, she's still a child… and you're alone…" Dumbledore listened to a woman saying to the gentleman who'd called Minerva._

"_I'm going to send her to a boarding school in Ireland until she's old enough to go to Hogwarts… I don't want her around, especially now that I'm the one in charge of my son-in-law's fortune" he replied._

"_Isn't she supposed to have that money?" the witch wondered._

"_Not until she's over age… But by then I'll have managed to transfer every galleon in her Griongott's security box to mine without anyone to notice I've stolen my own granddaughter" after that, the man left go a laugh and Dumbledore noticed little Minerva was hidden behind another witch's dress, listening every word his grandfather was saying "I can't believe I was going to forbid my daughter to marry that McGonagall, the coward was damn good at making money… It's just a pity he couldn't bear my dear Gene's death"_

_Albus couldn't believe that man was saying that at his granddaughter's father's funeral, he walked towards her willingly to embrace that poor little girl but, suddenly the scene became a blur and a luxurious living room appeared around Dumbledore. _

_The same gentleman of the funeral was sitting down, reading The Daily Prophet. Then, a ten-year-old Minerva came in. "Good afternoon" she said._

"_Where were you?" the man asked not taking his look away from the papers._

"_I was at Mrs. Longbottom's house, sir… I asked you this morning if I could go with Augusta and…" she replied, but her grandfather interrupted her._

"_I told you to be here at six o'clock for your transfiguration class" he said standing up in front of his granddaughter "You're starting at Hogwarts this September and I won't let my own granddaughter to be the family's shame"_

"_It's just a quarter past six, I'm sorry I'm late but Augusta's mom…" she tried to explain herself but her granddad didn't seem willing to listen… he raised his arm, and slapped her. "Granddad, I'm sorry…" she muttered with tears on her eyes and caressing her burning cheek "I won't be late again, I promise…"_

"_Of course you won't… because you're not going to the Longbottom's house anymore… You're not leaving this house for the rest of the summer." he said "That Augusta is a bad influence for you… you should be going with wizards of our same social position, not those losers."_

"_You cannot keep me locked in here as if I was a prisoner"_

"_Try me" and that was the last thing Dumbledore could listen before finding himself into a beautiful bedroom, with a four posted bed with tartan curtains around it. There was a big bookshelf next to a very tidy desk and a big window showing the Scottish seaside Minerva always talked about. _

_He looked around the room twice but couldn't find Minerva anywhere. He couldn't understand how he could be somewhere where she wasn't, since that was supposed to be one of her remembers. Then he felt a weird feeling, like if something was tickling all his body and suddenly… a Tabby cat came out from under the bed to become Minerva. She walked towards the desk, took the quill, looked the clock on the wall and wrote something on a paper. Dumbledore walked closer to read it._

4 minutes, 35 seconds. _Not understanding, he paid more attention to what was written on the paper before… It was a schedule of how long she'd been able to stay as a cat every time she'd transfigured herself. He wasn't sure what shocked him more, if her ability of becoming an animagus at the age of ten, or the fact of being that tidy and perfectionist that young._

_Gazing the clock she'd been looking before made Dumbledore remember why he was doing that, why he was in her mind… He should be looking for Minerva's last remember, not travelling around her childhood, but he found it such an amusing opportunity to get to know much better who'd been his best friend for the last almost forty years, that he let go of that though and just let Minerva's mind to take him to her next remember. _

To be continued…

A/N: Thank you everybody for your reviews. I think there'll be one (maybe two) more parts for this fic, but… writing about Minerva's childhood an interesting idea has come to my mind… and I'll maybe write a sequel for this about her years in Hogwarts… I'm not sure.


	3. Chapter 3

**A penny for her thoughts - 3**

…

_Dumbledore was now in a beautiful garden, and again, Minerva didn't seem to be there… so he looked for that tabby cat he knew so well, and effectively, he noticed it on the corner of a window, ready to jump._

_When the cat's front legs touched the ground, the memory became a blur, but not because it was disappearing, but because she was running so fast, she couldn't see the garden around her clearly. When the tabby cat stopped running, they already were down town, far away from the family house. She walked by the streets tasting her freedom with joy, and then jumped into a little green house with yellow flowers on each window._

_Inside, there was a modest bedroom with few furniture. The door was opened, and a short brunette girl came in closing the door after her._

"_Hi, Min!" she exclaimed when saw the cat, and it transfigured herself into the young witch. The girls embraced each other and sat onto the bed._

"_I almost thought I wouldn't be able to do it today" Minerva told to her friend "I think my grandfather is beginning to suspect something…"_

"_You should stop coming, Min… especially now that we're going to school… Imagine he decided to take you to some boarding school again, instead of Hogwarts"_

"_It's too late for that, we're taking the train in a couple days… Do you already have the books?"_

"_Not yet…" the girl answered sadly "My father had almost collected the money to buy them but then my mother got worse and we had to get her new medicines"_

"_Is she better now?"_

"_The fever went down but they still not sure of what she has…" tears came up to the girl's eyes and Minerva embraced her again._

"_I'm sure she'll be fine, Augusta… you'll see" she dried her friend's tears and then took a little sack full of coins from her cloak "This is for your books"_

"_No, I can't accept this" she rejected to take the money._

"_Please… Your parents and you have always been so good with me… I want to thank you for that"_

"_But… where have you take it from?"_

"_It's mine… from my parents… you don't need to worry… What matters is that you'll be able to get the books on time…"_

_Lionel knew Minerva was the most generous witch he'd ever met but, that scene moved him._

"_We'll meet in the train in two days, ok?"_

_Augusta Longbottom nodded and then saw how her friend transfigured into a cat while she jumped through the window to the street… Albus just saw how the scene disappeared to let Minerva's family house appear again. _

"_Minerva Gene McGonagall come down here right now!" her granfather's voice yelled from downstairs._

"_Yes, sir?" she wondered coming down, already knowing something was wrong. Had he found out her secret? Did he know she was an animagus, or that she had been meeting Augusta secretly? _

_As soon as she stood in front of him, he grabbed her by her hair and took his wand out._

"_I should have imagined you would be like your father…" he muttered while his wand touched her skin causing her a lot of pain._

"_Granddad, please… you're hurting me" she sobbed, and Dumbledore tried to grab the man, but he obviously couldn't since that was nothing else than a vision._

"_Shut up, little burglar! Where's my money?"_

"_It's not your money!" she exclaimed "It's my parent's money, so I have all the right to take a few coins if I want!" _

_The man couldn't believe she knew that… and Minerva took advantage of his surprise to run away and hide into her bedroom. _Just two more days. _She thought, walking in front the mirror and pulling her top up to find a big bruise there were her grandfather's wand had been._

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

_After that, a lot of memories past through very fast; the train, the magic hat shouting _Griffindor!_, the bedrooms' tower and then… a classroom._

_It was different than he remembered it but, it was the transfiguration class of Hogwarts. Albus looked at the young Minerva, happier than on any of the memories they'd been traveling through… That was her first class ever in the school, and she looked joyful._

"_Who do you think will be our teacher?" Augusta wondered._

"_I don't know…" Minerva whispered, right when a young blonde haired wizard came inside and Albus could feel her heart beating faster, her hands sweating, her legs trembling, her eyes unable to stare at the wizard who turned around and said:_

"_Good morning, my name's Albus Dumbledore and I'll be your transfiguration teacher this year"_

_After that, memories past fast again: book pages, quidditch victories, and a lot of sights every time his younger self crossed the corridor in front of her. _

She had a crush on me at school… Dumbledore thought… How could I never notice that?

_He looked around on the next memory… He recognized that place quickly, it was his office, but there were a few different things… he then realized that behind which was now his desk there was sitting down Headmaster Dippet, and not him. _

"_Armando" he listened to his own voice saying and he turned around to meet a younger version of himself followed by a teenage Minerva "Mss. McGonagall is here, you want me to stay?"_

"_It could be good if you stay, yes" the old headmaster said, offering them a sit with his hand, and holding a letter with the other._

_While they sat down, the Albus from the present remembered that moment, and he actually was able to repeat every word from the conversation that follows._

"_How are you doing, Mss. McGonagall? Your OWL exams are close, but I'm sure you'll have no problem with them… Professor Dumbledore has already told me you're the best student of his class"_

"_I'm fine, I've been preparing my exams successfully and I actually have the best marks in the school, Professor Dippet… but I'm sure you haven't called me to talk about this, have you?" the fifteen year-old talked drily but maturely._

"_No, you're right. I've called you because I thought I should give these news to you personally" and he handed her a letter she opened patiently as the headmaster kept talking "I was sent it this morning from the Ministry, I'm sorry for your lost, Mss. McGonagall"_

_Minerva read in silence: _

Sir William James MacCormack, grandfather of your student Minerva Gene McGonagall, has dead tonight in his home in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It's been a peaceful dead.

_Both Albus and Armando kept looking at the young girl while she was reading. She showed no tears, no anger, no feelings. Albus remembered thinking she was just trying to look mature in front of her teachers but now, after know how her grandfather treated her… he understood her indifference. _

_Once again, the memories passed in front of Albus eyes like if someone was pressing the speedy button… He saw a Christmas tree, but not at the old family house of Minerva, but in the modest Longbottom's house… He guessed that, after her grandfather's death and since he had no more family, the Longbottom's had let her stay with them. He saw her growing up, becoming a beautiful young woman who was suddenly kissing some guy in one of the school's corridor._

_He moved around the sweethearts hoping he could see his face._

"_Al" she muttered and Albus turned to her because she sometimes called him by that name "Al, please" she begged, and Albus was starting to get upset to whoever the boy was "Alastor!"_

Moody! Albus couldn't believe it… He had thought sometimes in the order that there'd been something between Minerva and Alastor Moody for the way they act, but… in the school?

"_What's wrong?" a teenage Moody replied, not stopping kissing her lips._

"_We're in the middle of the corridor, would you please stop" she asked "I don't want to spend my last months in the school in detention just because you can't control yourself"_

"_Let's go to the prefects' bathroom"_

"_No"_

"_Come on, you always say you love having a bath there… that it relaxes you…"_

"_Yes… on my own"_

"_Come on, it will be fun" after insisting a little more, Moody finally convinced Minerva and the next thing Albus was allowed to see was the two teens in front of the bathroom's door._

"_Alastor…" she muttered "I don't know what you think it's going to happen in there but…"_

"_Nothing will happen that you don't feel ready for" he said caressing her hair "I just want to spend some nice time with you…"_

"_I love you" she whispered standing on her tiptoes before kissing him._

"_I love you too" _

_The sweethearts went inside while Albus wondered how the smartest girl of the school was allowing a boy to go with her into the prefects' bathroom… everybody knew what happened in there when a boy and a girl went inside together. But after that he found himself inside the bathroom, and he could see Alastor sitting at the edge of the swimming pool while Minerva swam without any clothes under the water. Her body was beautiful, but he could feel her excitement and nerves while she approached him._

"_Come with me" she whispered taking his hands, pulling him into the water with her while they kissed._

_Right then, Albus wished he'd allowed Severus to be the one to go into Minerva's mind… not because he wanted him to see that, but because Snape would have been able to go straight on to the memory they were looking for. He tried to make the prefects' bathroom disappear… he tried hard and finally: more classes, more book pages, the NEWTs exams, a train and… darkness._

_It wasn't a lightless darkness… it was a peaceful darkness… he could suddenly feel her fear, her questions, her doubts… School had finished, she had all her parent's money back inherited from her grandfather but, she didn't know what to do with her life… but there was a light… and Alastor Moody appeared while the sky was drown around them… They were flying above London, and were wearing the Ministry Aurors' sign on their brooms._

"_Alastor, care!" Minerva yelled out when a wizard all dressed in black with his face covered attacked him. Moody was able to move away, but Minerva was injured and felt from the broom. Alastor speeded down and caught her on time, while the image became a blur._

_..._

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

_A/N: I hope you still like the story… it's just so fun to imagine how Minerva's past might be… ;-)_


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Just remember you that this was the sequel of _Minerva's perfect eve_… but I've tried to reproduce part of that little shot in the chapter so you can understand it easily…

I hope you enjoy it… sorry for the silly mistakes, it's 3am in Spain right now… Good night^^

* * *

><p><strong>A penny for her thoughts – 4<strong>

…

He had frightened himself when he saw Minerva falling down her broom… Even if he knew nothing happened to her because she had obviously survived… seeing her best friend almost die wasn't a pleasant image.

Suddenly he felt guilty, it was a feeling coming from Minerva… and then Alastor appeared in front of him… he was having a chat with Minerva.

"Is it because your new job at Hogwarts?" he asked "I always knew you wouldn't be an auror forever, Min… It's not a problem for me, we'll find the way to see each other anyway…"

"It's not that, Alastor" she replied among sobs and tears "It's just… I… I love you, I really do but… it wouldn't be fair…"

"What is not fair? I don't understand… I thought we were happy together…"

"I think I'm… falling in love with someone else…"

"Who?"

"He doesn't even know… he doesn't even look at me…" she confessed.

"I…" Alastor mutter suddenly showing an insecurity Albus had never seen on him "I could understand it, I mean… it's not that weird that you feel things for other people… but, as long as you still love me too…"

"No, Al… it wouldn't be fair… I, I do love you, really… you will always have a special place in my heart but… it's not that strong feeling from those days in the school and after… it's not the same I'm beginning to feel for…" and she shut her mouth before saying the name of the mysterious man.

"Who's him? Please… If I'm going to lose you… you who have been my life, my soul, my light during all these years… you, who I've fought for, who I've risked my life and given everything I ever had… I think I do deserve to know who is stealing you from me"

"Albus…" she said hesitatingly "Albus Dumbledore"

"That old jerk?" he exclaimed.

"He's not that old!" she quickly replied and Albus felt fluttered "He's a gentleman, he's kind, and generous, and… I'm just the transfiguration teacher for him"

"If he doesn't even notice you why are you willing to suffer? I love you, Mina… I'll love you for the both of us… just don't leave me, please"

"Don't insist, Alastor, please… I don't like to hurt you but, I couldn't lie to you anymore…"

While the memory vanished Albus felt guilty, and this time it wasn't a feeling coming from Minerva… he felt guilty to have destroyed what seemed a wonderful couple, and he wished once more he could have given Minerva what she was looking for.

A moan took him back from his own thoughts… He closed his eyes, he wasn't going to watch anymore intimate scenes, he thought while Minerva groaned again in pleasure. He wondered who was the man who was making her so happy, and for a moment he wanted to open his eyes but… no, he couldn't do that to his friend… when suddenly, her groan came accompanied by a name "Oh, Albus" her voice said almost in a whisper… and he opened his eyes wildly…It couldn't be him, not that he remembered… and then he understood… He was in Minerva's bedroom in the school, and under her sheets she was giving pleasure to herself obviously thinking on the headmaster.

When Minerva confessed him her feelings it had never passed through his mind that he could awake such a passion on her… the truth was he had never thought he could inspire that kind of desire in any woman.

He recognized the next memory immediately… She had prepared everything carefully… She had made a delicious pie, she had prepared some strawberries for deserts and had bought a very expensive French vine. After that, they sat next to the fireplace and talked very friendly until he turned back to find her lips looking for his.

"This is no right" he had said, stopping her, and now he could understand how much his had actually hurt her. "Minerva… I… think you should know I'm gay" that was the first time he confessed his secret to someone. But she had already noticed… thought she'd never wanted to understand the clues…

"I guessed it when I noticed the way you looked at the new librarian had nothing to do with the way you looked at me…" she had told him "I just convinced myself it meant nothing… You make me so happy, Albus!"

"I'm sorry" he had said… and now he realized that wasn't enough… but he did mean those words… he was very sorry for not being able to love her in the same way she did. Minerva was a wonderful witch and woman, she would make any wizard the most happy man in the world… but Albus wasn't able to see on her nothing else but a very good friend.

That night they'd promised each other to be friends forever… It had been more than thirty years since that day and the truth was he wasn't able to imagine his life without Minerva… They did almost everything together; they never took any decision without discussing it with the other; they were able to talk without words between them because they could read each other's body like if they were their own gestures and looks… They really acted like an actual couple, Albus suddenly realized… the truth was none of them had had any serious relationships in years… A thought he quickly regretted came to Abus' mind… They could try it… but no… it would never work… not because he didn't love her, he did… but not in the same way, she would never awake that carnal desire on him…

Albus sighted… he had to go out from there… The amusement of knowing more about Minerva's life was gone… now he felt he knew too much, and he could understand why she actually kept those memories just for herself… they were her most private and intimate memories… those little treasures of our lives that we selfishly try to hide. He wondered why he was allowed to look at them, and he thought that maybe they were what Minerva was dreaming while she was unconscious in the hospital wing.

He tried to gain control on himself and go straight to the memory he came looking for.

…

TO BE CONTINUED…


	5. Chapter 5  Severus time

**A penny for her thoughts – 5 / SEVERUS TIME**

…

Severus looked at the clock in the hospital wing wall. Dumbledore had been in Minerva's mind for almost an hour. That old wizard was supposed to be a genius, but he wasn't even able to look for one memory in someone's head. For sure he was having fun gossiping in his friend's past... He gazed the clock one more time. That was it, he was taking the old man out from there.

Severus walked into the private room and found Minerva laying down on the hospital bed and Albus sitting on a chair next to her, looking like he was sleeping. Severus cursed something under his nose and then approached the bed, looked at the unconscious witch and whispered _Legilimens_… .. .

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … ...

He concentrated on finding Dumbledore first… if he really was lost in her thoughts he should find the Headmaster before he wasn't able to find the way out from Minerva's mind. He should have imagined letting him do it wasn't a good idea… but he insisted on Minerva's privacy. All the school knew there was something more than a colleagues' relation going on between those two… specially Severus, who had seen them argue like husband and wife every time they put a subject on the table.

Lots of images past through his eyes very fast… a child with long black hair and a sweet smile, some tears and a funeral, the school many years ago and a teenage witch with a shiny penetrating green look, a first kiss and a first heartbreak… Severus could also notice Dumbledore in his younger years… there the sequence of images seemed to slow down…

"Minerva, I think you should know I'm gay" the Headmaster talked and Severus opened his eyes wildly.

So people weren't that wrong… there was actually something else between them… some feelings from the past, feelings that Albus didn't share…

For a while Severus felt pity for that stubborn which he argued with all the time. Everybody looked at her like the severe teacher who rarely smiles, but he'd seen her in private and she did have a nice smile, he knew she was a very caring person and she didn't deserve suffering for an unrequited love. Now he really felt bad for all those times he had made fun of her for not having a man in her sad and lonely life.

_Let's concentrate in the job, Severus. _He said to himself trying to feel Dumbledore.

"You're taking a Death Eater into the school!" he heard Minerva's voice yelling.

"He's not a Death Eater any longer" the headmaster replied.

"We have children in charge, Albus…" Severus was listening to that old conversation while he looked around in a deep darkness trying to find the origin of those voices "…whose parents trust on us to make sure they'll be safe from the war in this castle…"

"They'll be ok, Minerva… Trust me, there's nothing to worry about"

"There's a death eater to worry about"

"I already said he's not longer…"

"People doesn't change their minds that easy, Albus" she interrupted.

"I have my own reasons to trust on his loyalty, Minerva. But, since you have a very good sense to rumble people, you'll be able to see on your own that there is no darkness in his eyes"

After that the darkness that surrounded Severus was cleared and an image of himself suddenly appeared in front of him. It was weird… it was like looking at himself in a mirror, just that he was some years older now. He wondered why he was in Minerva's thoughts now… he wondered why he wasn't able to reach Albus when there was nobody as good as him in legilimens.

He looked deeply into his younger eyes and he realized Albus had been right… there was no darkness in them, thought they were actually very black, he could see more than just two onyx spheres on them… there was pain, and sadness… there was a hint of love… there was no doubt that those eyes had seen too much terrible things and a very few good ones. But Albus was right, there was no darkness on them.

"It's odd, isn't it, Severus?" the Headmaster's voice said, and this time he was sure it wasn't coming from any memory. Severus turned around and met Dumbledore.

"What?" he wondered turning back to realize the image of him had disappeared.

"To look at yourself through someone else's eyes"

"You mean that was actually what Minerva felt the first time she saw me after you hired me?"

"You are the expert in legilimens, Severus… and we are in her mind…" He hated when the Headmaster avoided his questions in that way, but he was right… they were in her mind, so that could have just been her remember.

"What are you doing here, by the way?" Dumbledore asked.

"Taking you back. Do you already know what happened to her?"

"No" Albus rolled his eyes and Severus sighted.

…

TO BE CONTINUED…

…

A/N: I'm sorry… I wanted to keep going but I got stuck and I thought here was a good moment to stop and decide what will exactly happen after this. I hope you liked this part. I know legilimens doesn't exactly work like this… but this is just a fanfic, so… what matters lol. I hope you liked it and if not, leave a comment and tell me something^.^


	6. Chapter 6 The end

**A penny for her thoughts – The end.**

Poppy Pomfrey came into the private room of the hospital wing were Minerva was lying down, to find both the Headmaster and the potion's teacher sleeping beside her. Like if she'd awaken them with the noise of her steps, they came back to themselves and looked at each other.

"Could you see what happened to her?" the nurse wondered.

"She was attacked" Albus said.

"By a witch?"

"By a witch's cat" Severus answered.

"Excuse me?" Madam Pomfrey didn't understand anything and then Albus told her what they saw in her last memory.

"She was walking through the crowd of witches in her animagic form when another cat jumped over her"

"Trying to get rid of the animal she jumped on a tree" Severus added.

"But it didn't worked and she transfigured herself back into human to scare it"

"She did scare the cat, but its miaowing coughed the attention of some witches who noticed Minerva on the branch"

"Someone disarmed her and she felt down the tree after been touched by a hex. Finding herself with no escape she whispered a sleeping spell so she would look dead when they checked"

"Could you here the exact words?" Poppy asked.

"Something like _obdormio_" Severus said "Will you be able to wake her up?"

"Of course I will… I told you, she's just sleeping" Poppy approached Minerva with her wand and touched her forehead while saying "_Somno suscito_"

Slowly, Minerva's eyes opened and Severus left the room without being noticed.

"We thought we'd lost you" Albus said to his friend.

"I thought it too" she replied.

"Next time you want to play with sleeping spells try not to be alone, please" Poppy pointed.

"How did you manage to know which one I used?" Minerva wondered with curiosity.

"You should ask that to Dumbledore here" she answered leaving the two of them alone.

Minerva looked at Albus, who tried to avoid her eyes.

"So?" she asked.

"Well… I was very worried so… I kind of used legilimens on you" he confessed, worried of her reaction.

"Oh" and she seemed to analyze that fact for a while "Well… that's ok, I mean… we have no secrets, do we? You can't have seen anything I didn't want you to know, right?"

"Well… I didn't but…"

"What?"

"You see, I… I thought I would be able to manage it on my own but… I couldn't"

"So?"

"Severus helped"

"Severus used legilimens on me? What did he see?"

"Nothing" Albus said "I guess… We went straight to the matter when he found me lost in you memories"

But Minerva wasn't listening to him anymore, she'd rushed out from the bed and was now heading to Severus office.

* * *

><p>He was standing in front of the little mirror hanging on the wall of his office when the door was opened noisily.<p>

"We need to talk" she said.

"It's not there anymore" he replied.

"What are you talking about?" she asked confused "Severus, we need to talk about what you saw. I need to know what you were able to see and explain you…"

"You know what I see when I look myself on the mirror?" he kept ignoring Minerva.

"No" she answered not understanding anything.

"I see darkness. I see a grown-up man with dark hair, dark eyes and a dark soul full of very dark mistakes in his even darkest past"

"That's not what I see" she said.

"I know, I've seen how you see me and I wanted to prove myself I could see that too but, I can't"

"I'm sure you're doing something wrong"

"I'm just looking myself on the mirror, Minerva… there's no way to do that wrong"

"Trust me, you are" she approached him and stood behind him "Close your eyes" she said.

"I won't be able to see with my eyes closed"

"Do it" she said in a bossy tone and he obeyed "Now tell me what you saw in my memory"

"You were looking at me but you didn't see the darkness, you could see light through my eyes, you could see through the pain, the wrong things I did, the sadness I felt and see love…" while he talked he felt his hand being wrapped by hers and the warm of her body standing close to him. When he stopped describing what he remembered seeing in her mind he felt her breathe close to his chin and all of a sudden he felt a kiss on the corner of his mouth.

"Minerva" he muttered but she silenced him with another kiss on his lips.

"Open your eyes now" she said. She was standing between him and the mirror, but he could see himself reflected on the sapphires of her eyes. "Can you see it now?"

"Minerva, why didn't you ever tell me you felt like this for me?"

"I don't know… I guess I kept saying myself it was nothing until the moment Albus told me you may had discovered everything and I felt…"

"How?"

"Worried that you may not feel the same"

"You have nothing to worry about, then" he said, and he pulled her into his embrace before kissing her softly and sweetly on her lips.

…

THE END.

**A/N:** I feel I have to apologize because I've totally spoiled this story. The ending has nothing to do with the beginning and let's admit it, the writing was worst at every chapter. I know when I do something wrong and this fic is totally wrong. I've tried to safe it in the best way I could without re-writing the already post parts so I hope you like it at least a little and if not, I won't blame you. The original idea was good and I just messed it up. If anyone can think on a better way this fic could have gone I give you total freedom to take that good idea and make it better in your way. I'm sorry and I really promise I'll do better in my other fics.

Thanks to those who kept reading to the end, though. I just hope you won't judge all my writing for this one. ;-)


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